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User: SeanMon

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Comments · 53

  1. Re:Not fast on Freeciv As Benchmark of HTML5 Canvas Javascript Performance · · Score: 1

    [S]o what do we do with all the extra power?

    Run Flash. In a browser. On top of a virtualized OS. To watch a cat jump into a box and fall over.

  2. Re:got my gvoice number this week on FCC To Probe Google Voice Over Call Blocking · · Score: 2, Informative

    The problem is that Google has made themselves into a phone company, [emph. added] but don't want to play by phone company rules.

    This is fundamentally wrong. There is no way to place or receive phone calls without an existing phone service.

    (SMS messages are slightly different because with Google Voice you can send and receive SMS without another phone service. However, no landline phone services (that I know of) support SMS, so I don't believe that's relevent.)

  3. Re:lim-0 on How Heavy Is a Petabyte? · · Score: 1

    As long as the data is being transmitted, it doesn't really weight anything.

    However, since E=mc^2, the photons traveling in this transmission have a non-zero equivalent mass:

    Assuming a distance of 1.861 AU from Earth to Mars (according to Wolfram|Alpha), light takes 15.48 minutes to travel from Earth to Mars. Assuming a bandwidth of 5 times dial up speed, 35 kB/s, this gives us only 32 MB of transient storage. This 5x dial-up speed is achieved with a radio transmitting at, say, 500 kilowatts (this number is completely, utterly pulled out of my ass).

    Using E= mc^2, (500kW * 15.48 minutes)/(c^2) = 5.17 micrograms. So, thats 5.17 micrograms / 32 MB * 1 PB giving 173.35 grams for a petabyte!

  4. Re:As usual with new Firefox releases... on Firefox 3.5 Reviewed; Draws Praise For HTML5, Speed · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I thought the same, a convenient way to browse. And being able to close FF and open it later on with all my tabs intact, that's even better.

    Have they fixed the annoying "bug" where having the Downloads window open causes Firefox not to ask you to save the tabs for later? The Downloads window shouldn't count as an open FF window.

  5. Re:Eh on Apple Store Reopens With Many New Products · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Amazingly, that now pretty much describes the bottom end Mac Pro...

    ...Except for the price tag.

    Except for the price tag and the use of overpriced server-class components, yes. The really screwy thing, of course, is that the 24" iMacs all have 4GB of RAM, whereas the hideously expensive quad-core Mac Pro has only 3GB (and you can bet Apple will charge through the nose for more).

    And you can bet that it has 3GB because it's using triple-channel DDR3, which is required with the latest Core i7 processors and boards.

  6. Re:So....what about TV? on Apple Intros 17" Unibody MBP, DRM-Free iTunes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do I need to download my library again, (and thereby lose the totally pointless play count next to my songs? What will I do? That's how I keep score damnit!)

    iTunes separates the metadata from the data somewhat: a song entry in the iTunes database has a pointer to a file.
    I updated my library to iTunes Plus when it first was released, and I didn't lose anything (play counts, ratings, and playlists!)

  7. Re:Desktops too on Apple Laptop Upgrades Costing 200% More Than Dells · · Score: 5, Informative

    You must take into account, though, that the Mac Pro takes Fully-Buffered DDR2 DIMMs at 800MHz. Newegg.com doesn't even offer 4GB FB-DIMMs at 800MHz...

  8. The answer is 64! on Y2K38 Watch Starts Saturday · · Score: 1

    By 2038, no major consumer cpu manufacturer will be producing anything but 64 bit chips.

  9. Re:"Integrated Battery" on Apple Announces MacBook Air · · Score: 1

    Most wristwatches manage to have a very small form factor and a battery that can be replaced with relative ease.
    Most wristwatches don't have a 1.6 GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, an HD screen with backlight, and wifi.
  10. Re:A few thoughts on Apple Announces MacBook Air · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The 160GB iPod Classic is .12'' thicker than the 80GB version because the drive is thicker. This model doesn't look like it can be easily expanded even by a couple mm...

  11. Re:Half way solution: GPS on Playing With Atomic Clocks At Home · · Score: 1

    NTPD isn't good enough for me -- bad weather on the Internet has caused my server to loose synchronization one too many times. . . [Using GPS to get the time, all] you need to do is to make sure that your GPS device has a reasonable view of the sky.
    Then you'll have to worry about real bad weather.
  12. Re:In other words, greater than 6 in 10 will steal on 38% of Downloaders Paid For Radiohead Album · · Score: 2, Informative

    I "purchased" twice (first for free, then I paid $8) but only downloaded once, figuring that they're probably paying for bandwidth.

  13. Rumored... on MIT Startup Unveils New 64-Core CPU · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's rumored to be able to run 16 whole instances of Vista simultaneously!*

    *Required 32 GB of RAM not included.

  14. Re:Well, the first part of the story is cool on Star Wars Fan Puts Himself in Carbonite · · Score: 1

    What a maroon. I'd say more like a tarnished silver or aluminum...
  15. Re:Not the first time this has been proposed on Optical Solution For an NP-Complete Problem? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A CO2 laser at 500 kW generating a beam of 10 micrometer wavelength produces about about 2.52 x 10^25 photons per second. It will only take 1.25 x 10^167 years to generate 100^100 photons.
    Just a bit more than we can handle.

  16. Re:Tee Hee on The Secrets of Firefox about:config · · Score: 2, Informative
    Haha, nice try, but general.config.obscure_value simply is

    "An integer to use when obscuring the AutoConfig file saved to and read from disk. Default value is 13 (effectively, ROT-13 the content)."
  17. Re:Excuse me on Quirks and Tips For Upgrading To Vista · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's what I keep on hearing, that Vista causes diarrhea in many older computers.

  18. This prevents damage on Possible Cure For Autism · · Score: 5, Insightful

    it won't cure autism. It sounds like the treatment would prevent the brain from being damaged, not that it would reverse any existing damage, for everyone with The Geek Syndrome.

  19. Re:Globalization on RIAA Says CDs Should Cost More · · Score: 1

    That's all we need, for the RIAA to outsource musicians.

    Not that any pop music has meaningful lyrics nowadays...

  20. Re:Branding: "Ogg" vs. "Vorbis" on Ogg Vorbis Gaining Industry Support · · Score: 1

    I'm not even certain that iPods play MP3s.

    From Wikipedia: "The iPod can play MP3, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats."

    Where did you ever get the idea that the iPod, the first well-known MP3 player, didn't play MP3s?

    Also, where did you import "your friend's" music from? If you copied from another computer, iTunes leaves it in the format it was originally. If you ripped it from a CD, yes, it defaults to AAC, but you can change it to any format iTunes supports. (BTW, AAC has better sound quality than MP3 at the same bitrate. If you are an audiophile, rip your songs in Apple Lossless, or leave them as WAV files.)

  21. Re:Are you kidding? on Largest Twin Prime Yet Discovered · · Score: 0, Redundant

    1 isn't a prime.

  22. Re:Stupid.... on New iPod Owner Onslaught Overwhelms iTunes · · Score: 1

    If you have a giftcard, click "Redeem" on the front page of the iTunes Store (it's in the top-right box). When you create an account while in the process of redeeming the giftcard, you can select "Payment: none."

    I do agree that it is silly that you have to have a credit card or a giftcard to create an account.

  23. Re:Stupid.... on New iPod Owner Onslaught Overwhelms iTunes · · Score: 1

    You do not need a credit card to have an iTunes Account.
    I've been buying music from it since it first opened with gift cards.

  24. Hey! on Beating Procrastination with Self-Imposed Deadlines · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was gonna post this yesterday, but...

    Nevermind.

  25. Re:lovely on Windows Live and Privacy · · Score: 3, Informative

    If a structure is visible from a public way, it is legal to photograph it and publish it; it is not a copyright violation. Exceptions are made, of course, for certain government areas, most notably Area 51.